


that's the kind of love i've been dreaming of

by starbreads



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Robot Fights, all of the fluff really, robot violence, the hedgehog au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-10-30 03:06:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17820632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbreads/pseuds/starbreads
Summary: The one where Lena gets drunk, Kara has robot fights, and they love each other.





	that's the kind of love i've been dreaming of

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iadrift](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iadrift/gifts).



> based off of [this tweet](https://66.media.tumblr.com/3b1751a2099f15a949d55e37a166439d/tumblr_pj4olhEz5q1qamh2t_540.jpg). 
> 
> i rewrote this twice oops. all mistakes are mine, you can't have them :/

As much as she hated to admit it, Lena saw her break up with Verona a mile away. Hell, she knew it was inevitable the second they got together, but their easy arrangement as nothing more than fuck buddies turned out to be not so easy. Veronica had made it clear that she had no interest in feelings, only sex, but feelings happened as they were bound to do, and so Lena fell hard, but there was no one waiting to catch her.

Lots of yelling was involved, probably. Lena was already feeling the effects of alcohol, their screaming match going a bit fuzzy now as her body started to feel warm after more than a few fingers of cheap scotch at the college bar. Whatever, the devil’s in the details and Lena just want to drink, and forget, and move on. Veronica was kind of a shitty girlfriend anyways.

Lena signals to the bartender to top her off again, and the tall man purses his lips, giving her a once over. She glares at him, and he sighs, coming over with the bottle and topping her off, giving her a stern look as he leaves to the other side of the bar where other people were waiting for him. 

He returns a moment later, after Lena has already knocked back her drink and called out for another one, but instead of topping her off he scowls at her and hands her a tall glass of water. Lena glares at him but drinks it all the same, eyes dark and glazed over with the pleasant buzz of alcohol coursing through her veins. With a defiant look she asks for a beer, and the bartender just sighs and hands the closest one he can grab, refilling her empty glass of water as he goes along too. He doesn’t say anything, figuring that whatever she was going through sucked big time, but he secretly hoped that she’d be okay, sooner rather than later for both their sakes. Lena was going to drink him dry if she kept it up. 

//

Kara loved Friday Night Robot Fights as much as the next person, but between lab, school work, and the upcoming midterms, she was beyond exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to get home already and fall face into bed, tired of celebrating their win already.

Her team, the National City University Supers, had made it past the first few rounds with easy victories, managing to score a place in the Semi Finals as their robot Streaky tore through its opponents easily enough. One of the members on the team, Winn, had suggested they go out for drinks to celebrate, and she can’t say that she didn’t enjoy it, because she totally did, but between her late nights and early morning she was looking forward to sleeping in a little later than usual. If only the late bus she was on could hurry the hell up already, she really missed her bed.

She was grateful that it was relatively empty for a friday night, managing to snag an empty row of seats towards the front end of the bus so that she could stretch out for the duration of the ride, far away enough from a group of drunk looking frat boys so that they wouldn’t bother her. They were loud, as most of them are, egging each other on about one thing or another, but they quieted down, or as quiet as a group of guys could be, and Kara closed her eyes, hoping they’d stay that way for the remainder of the ride so she could enjoy it in silence and take a quick nap. Of course, that wasn’t the case, as a loud commotion burst from somewhere at the back of the bus, and Kara’s eyes sprung open, making her scowl up at the ceiling. There was a loud laugh from the group of guys and Kara shifted up to look over at them, blinking the heavy sleep from her eyes, confused about the sight before her.

“Ay fuckin hate hedgehogs! Come at me ye jabby wee cunt!” It was a woman, one that Kara vaguely recognized, arms up in a poor imitation of a fighting stance as she circled a dirty hairbrush that had seen better days. 

“Get him Lena!” one of the guys yelled, a cheer going up as Lena let out a yell and kicked wildly at the hairbrush, missing by a good foot. The guy yelled again, and Kara recognized him as Mike Daxam, eyes narrowing as she watched him move closer to Lena. 

Most people on the bus had now turned to look at Lena and her ‘hedgehog’, cheers and claps filling the bus with sound as they watched the terrible one-sided fight. Kara shot a look at the bus driver, waiting to see if she’d do anything, but the woman just continued on, acting like this was a regular occurence. For all Kara knew this probably was since it was the late bus coming back from the local college town, and she knew most of the passengers were coming from the bar this late at night. Besides, they were a turn away from their stop and they’d all have to get off in a few minutes anyways. 

Kara shifted her attention back to Lena, watching in horror as Mike approached and threw an arm around her shoulders, shooting his friends a smug grin and then leaning to whisper something in Lena’s ear. Lena’s brow furrowed, but before Kara could really think about what she was doing, she had already made her way over and pulled Lena away from Mike. He just held his hands up in surrender, backing away towards his buddies, Lena quickly forgotten as Kara pulled the drunk woman towards the front of the bus. 

Kara guided Lena off the bus, one arm wrapped around her waist as they staggered down the steps and to the bench nearby. 

“Hedgehogs can fuck right off!” Lena yelled in Kara’s ear and Kara just tiredly nodded, sitting Lena down on the bench and rummaging through her backpack for a bottle of water. Luckily, the group of frat boys left without further incident, their boisterous laughter fading into the night. 

Lena took the offered water bottle, protesting the unfairness of it all but drinking it anyways, throwing the empty bottle over her shoulder once she was done.

“Hey! Don’t litter.” Kara said as she chased after the bottle, grabbing it and tossing it into the trash can that was only a few feet away. “It’s bad for the environment Lena, you shouldn't do that.”

“I hate hedgehogs, and they’re in the environment, so I don’t care.” Lena slurred, shifting to put one leg up on the bench. She slowly turned to Kara, blinking in confusion up at her. “Hey, how do you even know my name ‘nyways?”

“We have biochem and english together.” Kara replied, squinting at the bright screen of her phone as she pulled up the campus map. “Where’s your dorm?”

“Can’t go there, Veronica hates me.” Lena sighed and slumped further into the bench. “Come to think of it, she probably likes hedgehogs. I should’ve known!” She threw her hands up as if making some grand discovery then sighed and leaned heavily against the bench again.

“Darn, really?” Kara groaned and put her phone back in her pocket. “Okay Lena, up you get.” Kar grabbed Lena and stood her up, making sure to keep one hand on her since she didn’t trust her to stay on her feet by herself. “Let’s get moving. If you wanna throw up, just don’t do it on my shoes.”

“Where we going?” Lena asked through a yawn, stumbling after Kara as she walked them in the direction of her dorm, giving the still lingering group of guys a wide berth and an ineffectibe glare.

“Sleep. You can figure out what you wanna do tomorrow.” Kara replied, grunting a little as Lena leaned more into her side. “Right now I’m tired as hell but I can’t just leave you out here, especially not with Mike around.”

“And the hedgehogs.” Lena grumbled.

Kara grunted out a laugh in reply and the two of them made slow but steady progress across campus. Kara managed to get Lena up and into her apartment, thankful that she lived alone for once and settled Lena into her bed. She grabbed a few spare blankets from her closet and readied herself to crash on the couch, checking in on Lena before she turned off the lights and went to lay down. She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

//

Lena woke up with a godawful headache and she groaned, burying her face into the pillow underneath her and pulling the blankets above her head. She wanted nothing more than to just stay in bed and ignore the world for a day, after the night she had she deserved a break at least. Hugging the pillow closer, she sighed happily into the material and took a deep breath, inhaling the clean smell of her sheets, and then suddenly freezing as a different but not entirely unpleasant smell invaded her nose. She pulled back and looked down at the yellow pillow cover, and then sat all the way up, watching as a blanket that was most definitely not hers slid off her shoulders. 

She pushed it off and scrambled out of bed, regretting the action when her hangover headache made itself known, bursting behind her eyes in retaliation to her hurried movements. 

Lena found herself standing in the middle of a room that was not hers, spinning in confusion and slight fear but she didn’t have much time to think about it as her stomach lurched and she ran to what she assumed was the bathroom. Luck was on her side this morning as she pushed through the door and fell on her knees in front of the toilet, emptying the meager contents of her stomach into it. 

She groaned and pitifully lay her head down on the seat, the porcelain cool against her burning forehead.

“Hey, you okay?” A blonde head peaked out from behind the soft blue shower curtains, and Lena blearily looked up at a person she sort of recognized. 

“Just peachy.” Lena groaned again and heaved for a moment, her stomach defiantly trying to make it’s escape, but she managed to catch her breath and then flush the toilet and stand at the sink to rinse her mouth of the acrid bile taste. 

Kara just watched her in concern all the while, paying no mind to the water that dripped off her head and onto the tile below. “Are you sure? Just, gimme a second. I’ll get you some water and meds for the headache I’m sure you have now.” 

She disappeared behind the shower curtain and the water promptly turned off, a well-toned arm snaking out to grab a towel and pulling it back behind the curtain. The curtain then opened and Kara stepped out with the towel wrapped snugly around her naked form, Lena quickly turning away, a blush rising to her cheeks.

Kara didn’t seem to be at all embarrassed to be standing practically naked in front of a stranger, shooting Lena a quick smile and walking back out into her room and then her closet. 

“Just, gimme a sec.” Kara’s voice is muffled, and Lena follows her back into the room.

She shuffles awkwardly from side to side, a little disoriented and at a loss, not sure what to say as she waits for Kara to change, her back turned to give her some privacy despite there being a door between them. Her thoughts are still scattered, bouncing about in her head intune with the slight headache that still pounds away behind her eyes when Kara reappears, the towel now wrapped around her head. 

There’s a bundle of clothes in her arms and she holds it out to Lena. “Here, change into these if you want. They’re clean, don’t worry.” Then she walks away, closing the bedroom door behind her. 

Still confused and with no idea of what else to do, Lena strips and steps into the borrowed clothes, inhaling the clean smell of them and comparing it to the scent of the pillow. It’s the same, and as she rolls the bottoms of the pants up a bit to fit her shorter stature she wonders if it’s Kara’s natural scent or her laundry detergent. When she deems herself ready to face Kara, Lena emerges from the bedroom, walking in the direction of sound and finds herself in Kara’s small kitchen.

“Glad to see they fit, I wasn’t sure they would.” Kara says, and Lena feels her throat close with emotion at Kara’s unwavering kindness. Or maybe dehydration, it’s too early in the morning and she’s still too hungover to properly analyze. 

“I, um. Thank you?” Lena swallows and tugs at the hem of her borrowed shirt. “I’m sorry, for whatever I did last night. I barely even remember it. You. What - how did I get here? Im sorry.” Lena presses the palms of her hands into her eyes, trying to will the blurry memories to make some sort of sense.

Kara waves her apology off and stands in front of her with one hand on her hip and the other coming to rest on Lena’s shoulder for a brief second, squeezing in what she hopes is a comforting gesture. She leans back and chuckles a little.

“You were drunk yelling at a hairbrush on the bus. Thought it was a hedgehog or something. I didn’t step in until Mike Daxam approached to be honest, but knowing him it wasn’t with good intentions so.” Kara just shrugs and smiles. “Oh, and here.”

Kara turns around to her counter and when she turns to Lena again she thrusts a cool glass of water into her hand and some pills.

“Thought that might help.” Kara smiles and gestures to the items in Lena’s hands.

Lena nods and gratefully knocks back the pills and the water, draining the glass and then drinking it again after Kara refills it for her. There’s a million questions on the tip of her tongue, but she bites them back, not trusting herself yet to make a coherent sentence, but she feels awkward as she’d never found herself in this situation before. One night stands and awkward morning walks of shame were a walk in the park compared to the kindness of her classmate.

“Well, um, thank you Kara. If I said anything stupid last night I’m sorry, like, so so sorry.” Lena sets the empty cup on the counter and leans back against it, crossing her arms and looking down at the floor by her feet, a bit embarrassed.

“You know my name?” Kara asks from beside her, and Lena looks up to see a look of surprise in her eyes.

“Of course I do.” Lena raises an immaculate eyebrow. “We have english and biochem. You sit in the front in both classes.”

Kara chuckles at her admission, and Lena is worried that it might have come off as a little creepy. Up until today, they had never really interacted before, they don’t run in the same circles or ever been partnered up for something, so of course they had never talked, and Lena is opening her mouth to explain, when Kara beats her to it.

“You didn’t know who I was last night, so that’s pretty funny.” She pushes herself off the counter and unwinds the towel from around her head, long blonde hair failing in messy waves around her shoulders. 

Lena groans and presses her hands to her face again, “I’m so sorry Kara, that’s super embarrassing.”

“It’s fine Lena.” Kara smirks a little, walking into her small living room and shuffling through her things as she looks for something. “As long as you can forgive Russy.”

“Russy?” Lena blinks. “What’s a Russy?”

“My hedgehog.” Kara gives Lena a shit eating grin and points to the corner of the living room. Sure enough when Lena looks there’s a large cage, and when Lena ambles over to it she spots the tiniest snout peeking out from a little plastic green house. 

“Oh my god!” Lena shuffles back. “Kara I’m just, I’m just gonna go.” She turns to the door, wishing the ground would just swallow her whole and only manages to touch the doorknob when there’s a soft touch on her wrist.

“Hey, Lena, I’m sorry.” When Lena turns to look at Kara, there’s an amused smile on her face but her voice is filled with genuine concern. “It was a golden opportunity. Besides, and I’m just being a friend here in case you forgot. But you said something about a Veronica?”

Lena inhales sharply and steps away from the door, colliding into Kara and there’s an awkward moment when they just stare at each other, Kara’s height making it so that she has to look down at Lena, before she takes a big step back and Lena feels like she can breathe again.

“Sore subject?” Kara asks. Lena just nods glumly, her headache subsiding slightly but flaring up again at the sudden movement of her head. “Look, whatever she did, just say the word and I’ll beat her up for you, kay?” 

That gets a laugh out of Lena, as she pictures sweet Kara Danvers beating up Veronica Sinclair, but she blinks when the memory of Kara’s rather defined arm snaking out of the shower resurfaces. 

“How about this. I take you out for some hangover food, and we can hang out for a bit ?”

“Yes, please. That would be lovely.” Lena just smiles at her, shooting Kara a grateful look.

“Of course.” Kara murmurs, and after finding her keys and letting Lena borrow one of her sweatshirts to fight off the cold breeze that settled in during the night, the pair make their way to the cafeteria. 

//

Breakfast is a quiet affair, Kara letting Lena bask in her own thoughts as she giggles at her phone screen occasionally, and while Lena would normally find this situation awkward Kara’s presence is anything but. When Kara laughs particularly loud Lena looks at her curiously, wondering what’s so amusing. Kara must have noticed her looking and flips her phone so that Lena can see the screen. 

It’s a text message thread between her and someone named Winn.

[Winn:] What do you call a melancholy robot? A sighborg

[Kara:] lmao! 

[Winn:] The next iPhone will be a huge 6s!

[Kara:] pfft we’re at xs now winn, try again.

[Winn:] Give me a break Kara, I thought you’d be all nuts and bolts about this

Lena chuckles and leans back into her chair. “I love robot jokes as much as the next person but those were weak.”

“Oh yeah?” Kara raises an eyebrow at Lena. “Well Miss Luthor, give me your best one.”

Lena hums as she thinks, knowing that it had to be pretty good. “Okay.” She rests her arms on the table and presses her hands together. Kara mirrors her pose, a gleam in her eye as she stares right into Lena’s eyes, lips pulled crookedly into a smile as she waits.

“Did you just break one of Asimov's Three Laws? Because you've got "fine" written all over you.” Lena delivers the line with a smirk and just a hint of a flirty undertone to really make it hit it’s mark. 

Kara flushes right away, her cheeks a flattering red and her blue eyes widen, soft pink mouth opening in surprise at the bold line. 

Lena laughs at her reaction, “Good huh? Told you so.”

Kara just smiles and nods, biting her bottom lip between her teeth. “Better than Winn’s that’s for sure. And I’m totally gonna tell him when I see him later.”

Lena smiles but she can’t help but deflate at that, knowing that Kara will leave soon and Lena will be left to her own devices. They both go quiet again and while its not particularly awkward Lena fidgets a little anyways at the unfamiliarity. She relaxes slightly when they finish their breakfast and start cleaning up after themselves. Before they leave Kara pulls Lena into an enthusiastic hug and puts her number into Lena’s phone with her name followed by a hedgehog emoji. Lena rolls her eyes fondly, and then with another quick hug and a wave they both go their separate ways. 

Lena makes her way back to her shared dorm with Veronica, dreading the confrontation but knowing that she had to go back eventually and she’d rather do it sooner than later. That, and as comfy as Kara’s clothes are she’d kill for a shower. Once she makes it to her dorm she pauses outside the door, taking a deep breath and preparing herself to face her ex, but when she finally builds up the courage to open the door, the sight that meets her eyes is unexpected.

She was expecting to see a pissed Veronica, her own possessions thrown about the room in angry fit, but she finds the opposite. Veronica is nowhere to be found, and all of her stuff has been cleared out, leaving half of the room glaringly empty. Lena wanders into and closes the door behind her, leaning heavily against the door, her shoulders hunched and sobering up rather quickly at the sight. To her, it’s like a slap to the face, not a trace of Veronica left behind, not even a note. Not that Lena was expecting one, but she was so ready to yell and scream and be angry, psyching herself up for it the whole way. The fact that it’s anything but what she imagined makes her slump in self defeat, and she promptly lies down bodily on the couch. It’s only then that she allows herself to cry, to bawl her eyes out at the loss of the woman that she thought she loved and loved her in return. Maybe, it’s for the best, she thinks, and the tears only subside when she falls asleep a little while later. 

//

Lena is thankfully distracted from her troubles as midterm week really amps up and she puts all her focus into studying for her classes. She passes all her tests easily enough, but when the week comes and goes she’s exhausted and wants nothing more than to spend a week in bed with a good book and food full of carbs so she does exactly that but only for one day, refueling for the remainder of the semester and ready to go back to work in the labs.

She drags herself out of bed on a Wednesday morning, muttering angrily to herself the whole way to the science building. She loved working in the labs, but she was just so tired from the last few weeks she had half a mind to just turn back and head to her dorm. Coffee in hand she begrudgingly makes her way inside, heading to the third floor where the research labs and meeting rooms are and finishing her cup outside, making sure to toss it in the trash before she heads into a meeting room. The room is already pretty full, standing room only, and only one other person comes in after her before the professor at the front of the class starts speaking. 

She goes on about what a pleasure it was to work with everyone, something that could’ve easily been sent in an email but whatever, and a handful of papers are passed around, full of information for next semester’s sign up deadlines and projects and countless other reminders. Lena is sure to stick them all into her backpack, not wanting to miss anything important, and before she knows it the speaker has wrapped up and sent everyone on their way.

She’s is waiting for the crowd to thin out before she makes a break for the door, still struggling a bit with the pile of papers, too busy to notice much else and so she collides with a solid body, a scent that she remembers but can’t quite place invading her senses. When she looks up to apologize, a sheepish smile on her face, she finds herself face to face with none other than Kara Danvers. 

Kara has a firm grip on Lena’s shoulders to steady her, and Lena flushes a bit when Kara smiles crookedly at her.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” Kara quips. “You have my number you know. And we’re in two classes”

If possible, Lena reddens even more, and Kara seems endlessly amused by it, flashing her that crooked grin. She gently takes Lena by the shoulders again and pulls her away from the door as the other students rush out of the classroom, dropping her hands to her sides soon after.

“I’m sorry.” Lena carelessly crams the papers into her bag, not caring that they’ll most likely be riddled with hard to undo creases. “And, sorry for not texting, or calling. I’ve been busy.”

“Hey, nothing to worry about.” Kara shrugs and splays her hands out. “These few weeks have been hectic for me too. Streaky and the team is going to the semi-finals so we’ve been prepping.”

“Streaky?” Lena raises an eyebrow, “who’s that? Not another hedgehog I hope.”

“No! He’s my robot.” Kara laughs and nudges Lena’s foot with her own playfully. Lena gets drawn to the movement, looking back up only when Kara starts speaking again. “The competition is actually kind of insane these year, and we’ve never made it this far, so I’m a little worried. But Brainy says we have at least a 60% chance of making it into the championships if we hustle, so we’ve kind of all been holed up in the engineering lab.”

“I just have more questions than answers now.” Lena chuckles and tightens her hold on the strap over her shoulder. “You intrigue me Kara Danvers.”

Kara smiles that crooked smile that Lena is starting to really like and shakes her shoulders playfully. “Maybe if you’d text me, I wouldn’t be that mysterious.”

It gets a laugh out of Lena and she surprises herself by reaching out and pushing Kara’s shoulder playfully. 

“Maybe I like a good mystery.” Lena quips.

“If you say so.” Kara just laughs again and shrugs, stepping back, and it’s only then that Lena realizes they had somehow drifted closer. “I have to go, the guys are waiting for me. I’ll see you around!” 

She leaves with a wave and a coy wink, too quick for Lena to reply as she makes a mad dash to the other end of the hallway. Lena chuckles quietly to herself and shakes her head, turning around and making her own way to her assigned lab. She pulls her phone out before snapping on her gloves and sends a quick text. 

[Lena:] I’ll show you my source code if you show me yours.

//

Lena and Kara text frequently after that, both too busy to get together but keeping in touch all the same. Although they’re together for two classes, they’d already adjusted to their current seating arrangements for the semester and it’s too late to change, so they settle for texting during class, giving each other looks across the room, and occasionally passing physical notes when the teacher isn’t looking. They pick up on each other’s habits, quickly getting to know each other and being more friendly in their messages. Kara reminds Lena to eat and Lena trying to send as many science puns and pick up lines to Kara as she can, especially after Kara said that the first one Lena sent looked like a robot wrote it. Lena rises to the challenge and sends them as soon as she sees a new one, even if she’s in the middle of something. Kara’s infectious enthusiasm and teasing is so worth it, even when they get caught in english and reprimanded for being too loud, despite being across the room from each other. 

Lena’s finishing up in her lab one cool evening when her phone buzzes with a new incoming message.

[Kara:] are u doing anything later? 

[Lena:] Nope, just finished for the day, what’s up?

[Kara:] Brainy and Winn are doing idek what so no robot stuff today and im bored. Wanna grab dinner and keep me company?

[Lena:] Wow Kara so I’m your last resort?

[Kara:] :((((

[Kara:] you’re my first so take that back dummy

[Lena:] I’m kidding darling i’d love to. What do you have in mind?

[Kara:] come over to my dorm when you’re free, wear something comfy!

[Lena:] ????

[Kara:] it’s a surprise :)

[Lena:] ?????!?!?

Kara doesn’t reply after that, and Lena huffs, knowing that Kara’s doing it to get a rise out of her, but she complies with the odd request anyways. Once she’s closed up after herself she goes to her room and changes into some rarely used but soft-worn jeans and a simple shirt. She’s not entirely sure what to expect as Kara ignores her numerous inquiries, so she just grabs her phone, keys and a small handbag with her wallet, then makes her way down the block to where the free standing apartments are. 

Kara at least had the foresight to text her apartment number, as Lena isn’t sure that she would’ve remembered, but she finds it easily enough and takes a deep breath outside the door to steady her suddenly erratic heartbeat. Lena knocks on the door and it swings open pretty quickly, Kara’s dazzling smile the first thing she sees.

“Lena!’ Kara says it like she wasn’t expecting to see Lena at her door, sounding wonderfully surprised. “Glad you made it, come in!”

Lena follows Kara into the apartment, looking around the space with interest. She barely remembers it from the first and only time she had been there, but she spots Russy’s cage and chuckles. Kara is already sitting on the couch but when she notices Lena transfixed on one corner of the room she follows her line of sight and laughs loudly.

“Do you really hate hedgehogs that much?” Kara asks, looking as amused as always but with genuine care in her voice. “I can put her in my room if you want.”

“No! Kara it’s fine.” Lena feels herself blush. “I don’t hate hedgehogs I promise, I was just drunk.”

“Well if you’re sure.” Kara eyes Lena scrutinizingly but then breaks out into a grin, patting the empty space next to her on the couch. “Now come on, pizza should be here soon.”

Lena’s only halfway across the room when Kara gasps so loudly that it makes Lena jump.

“Lena!” Kara says in horror.

“What?” Lena turns in a circle and pats herself down. “Kara what is it, oh my god get it off!”

“What?” Kara pauses and giggles, reaching a hand out to put on Lena’s back to stop her frantic spinning. “There’s nothing on you, you massive dork. I’m talking about your clothes.”

Lena does a 180 and looks down at herself then back up at Kara in confusion. “My clothes?”

“You think jeans and a blouse are comfy?”

“Well, yeah. What do you mean by comfy?”

Kara gestures down at herself and it’s only then that Lena realizes Kara is wearing a pair of soft looking sweats and an even softer looking white t-shirt that does nothing to hide the rather impressive musculature of Kara’s arms and shoulders.

“Oh.” Lena manages to stop the blush that for some reason threatens to flush her face. “Sorry?”

“Dork. Let me grab you something, I’ll be quick.” Kara replies, and she leaps over the back of the couch. Lena’s jaw opens at the casual show of strength, whatever excuse she had dying on the tip of her tongue before she can get it out, and when she realizes that she’s staring after her friend with her mouth open she shuts it with an audible click.

Sure enough Kara is quick, coming around the back of the couch this time to hand her a folded pile of clothes and pointing Lena in the direction of her bathroom. 

Lena takes her time, feeling nervous for some reason about spending time with Kara, even though it’s something they had both been talking about and looking forward to. Besides, it’s Kara, someone she would now consider a close friend, their constant texting and occasional calls bringing them closer. This was almost the same, except now there’s no screen to buffer any awkwardness that might happen. Still, Lena is determined to spend some time with her despite whatever previous reservations she may have had.

When she steps back into the living room the pizza has already been delivered, the two boxes spread out on the table, one significantly larger than the other. Kara is fighting valiantly against the gooey cheese and Lena watches in fascination as Kara folds the pizza slice in half and stuffs it into her mouth, laughing when Kara turns to her with a deer in headlights look and her cheeks exaggeratedly puffed out. 

“Pizza got your tongue?” Lena chuckles and settles beside her, reaching for her own slice. She smiles when she notices the pizza is exactly to her liking; chicken, tomato, spinach and alfredo sauce instead of marinara. “Thanks by the way.” When Kara shoots her a confused look, unable to answer due to the pizza still in her mouth, Lena gestures to the box in front of her. 

“You remembered what pizza I like.” Lena takes a bite and hums in satisfaction, swallowing her bite before speaking again. “So yes, thank you for remembering, hardly anyone knows my go-to.”

Kara shrugs casually like it’s no big deal, taking a big swig of her soda before replying. “Hey, anytime Lena. That’s what friends are for.”

A warm feeling spreads through Lena’s chest at the words and she can only smile and nod in return, her mouth otherwise preoccupied. Kara starts up a movie, the words ‘Legally Blonde’ flashing across the screen in a bright, startling pink and Lena chuckles and nudges at Kara’s shoulder. Kara turns to face her and grins, nudging her back, and they both settle in to watch the movie, pizza cradled in both their hands on some paper plates and drinks scattered about on Kara’s low living room table. She smiles fondly as the movie starts, remembering how a week ago Kara had been so appalled when she learned that Lena hadn’t seen the movie that she’d called her right away, Lena then confessing to not seeing a lot of movies that were prominent in pop culture. 

Lena is wholly entertained by the movie, and despite her initial reservations, her movie night with Kara is anything but awkward. Kara is a super considerate hostess, keeping Lena supplied with drinks and a comfortable pile of blankets as it gets colder, and when the clock starts nearing 10pm Kara cracks open a bottle of wine. Kara’s quiet for the duration of the movie, the only indication that she’s invested in it and no doubt seen it countless times is how her mouth moves along to the character’s lines and she fidgets when she gets excited. It’s absolutely endearing. When it ends, Kara starts cleaning up their mess and Lena is quick to help her, falling into an easy rhythm as they gather the trash and toss it, adjusting the insane amount of pillows and blankets Kara had gathered for them, their conversation ranging from school to dabbling briefly into their families. 

Lena feels that warm feeling in her chest again, and she realizes as the night progresses that Kara is just about the best person she’s met so far, unbelievably kind, caring, and unselfish, and she starts feeling a little choked up about it, feigning a cough and taking too big a drink from her wine glass. Kara is quick to top it off and to relieve the weird tension Lena feels building up, although she knows it’s only one sided, Lena breaks the silence.

“Trying to get me drunk Miss Danvers?” if Lena’s voice is a little more sultry than usual she can just blame it on the wine.

“What! No!” Kara flushes red, eyes looking anywhere except at Lena, and Lena realizes too late how that could have been interpreted. “I’m not that kind of girl Lena.” She recovers and the only hint Lena has of what’s to come next is a glint in her eye. “Besides, I don’t need to get a pretty girl drunk to get her into my bed.” Lena is staring at her the whole time and so when Kara winks and flashes a charming smile, it hits Lena full force. 

Lena feels herself turn red yet again, an astounding and record breaking number in the other woman’s presence, part of her scolding herself for getting flustered so easily, the other part of her still reeling from Kara’s blatant flirting. By the time she’s collected herself only a mere few seconds later, it’s like the last minutes hadn’t happened at all. When she feels like she’s ready to look at her friend, Kara is going to town on a now lukewarm piece of Lena’s pizza and queuing up another movie. Lena decides it’s best if she too just ignores it and settles back into her nest of blankets, nursing the wine in her hand.

She’s not sure how much time has passed when she’s startled by a loud yawn coming from Kara, and it’s only then that she realizes that she had dozed off. Kara is sitting up, rubbing at one eye with a hand, her other tugging her shirt down and Lena gets only a brief glimpse of a sliver of skin before it’s hidden behind the white fabric.

“Hey, Lena.” Kara murmurs, and her voice is low and husky from not being used recently, and for some reason it sends a shiver down Lena’s spine. “If you want, you can take my bed again.”

“What?” Lena clears her throat when her own voice comes out a little raspy. “No, it’s fine. I can walk home.”

“It’s two am Lena. Now get up and move cuz I’m gonna pass out any second.” Kara is blinking sleepily at her and Lena can only stare, moving only when Kara raises an eyebrow at her and gives her an expectant look.

“Fine, I’ll stay.” Lena clears her throat again, “but I get the couch, it’s your bed.”

“And you’re my guest. Please, I insist. I’m like, two seconds from falling asleep anyways.”

“Kara.” Lena crosses her arms and does her best glare at Kara.

“Lena.”

There’s a tense moment where they just stare at each other, Kara mirroring Lena’s pose and neither of them breath for fear of losing the upper hand. Eventually, exhaustion wins out and Kara breaks. 

“Fine, I’ll take the bed.” Kara gathers the blankets from the couch under one arm, and Lena’s face is settling into a smug grin, when suddenly Kara reaches out as she walks by and grabs her by the wrist, tugging her into her bedroom. “But you’re coming with me.”

“Hey!” Lena’s too stunned and sleepy to say anything back, watching as Kara throws the pile of blankets onto her bed haphazardly and then falling on top of it face down.

“Come. Sleep. You get that side.” Kara pats the empty space beside her. 

“Well, what if I want your side?” Lena huffs, her feet betraying her words as she walks to the other side and tentatively pulls back the blankets to make room for herself.

“Too tired, finders keepers.” Kara grumbles, shifting her body until she’s under the covers properly and sighing as the comforting weight of the numerous blankets settles above her. 

Lena’s sleep addled mind briefly thinks about how awkward it is to sleep in the same bed as a person that she’s only getting to know, but then she’s almost fully awake with the realization that she does know Kara. She knows Kara really well in fact, the same way that Kara knows her. She knows her favorite color, her go to coffee drink, she knows about her love of science and space and robot fights. It suddenly hits her that Kara is probably her best friend, and it’s such a simple and true yet startling fact, that she gasps. 

“You okay?” Kara mumbles sleepily beside her, and Lena feels more than sees Kara turn on her side to face her. 

“I’m great, just remembered I have to do something tomorrow.” Lena whispers. 

Kara mutters something unintelligible, shifting beside her again until she finally settles with a deep sigh. “Goodnight Lena, sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight Kara.” Lena replies, adjusting herself to a more comfortable position. They end up with their backs to each other, and it’s kind of perfect really the way they both settle easily into the bed. Kara’s breathing evens out fairly quickly, and Lena follows her soon after, tired but comfortable and surrounded by a heavy warmth that settles around her. It’s the best damn sleep Lena’s ever had. 

//

Movie nights become more frequent after that, with Lena staying more often at Kara’s apartment out of convenience, falling asleep in the same bed and waking up in a mess of tangled limbs. It’s not exactly awkward, but neither of them ever bring it up and it works. 

And really, it’s not awkward at all. It’s the opposite, it’s comforting and they both always sleep better on those nights then when they sleep alone. Neither of them mention it.

They also meet each other’s friends at Kara’s famous game nights and nights out, and the growing group of friends gets along famously with each other. Lena’s immensely surprised that all of Kara’s friends are as big nerds as she is, and their conversations range from subjects such as what Monopoly game piece is the most superior which, clearly, it’s the dog, to quantum entanglement. 

While school keeps both of them fairly busy and they hang out less than they’d like, by stroke of luck Lena and Kara are paired for an english assignment, some poetry project that’s due at the end of the semester, and they’re both besides themselves at the thought of spending more time with each other. It’s aided by the fact that Lena had moved to sit behind her for the purpose of the project, but despite being in close proximity they still text discreetly, not wanting to get hushed by the teacher yet again. 

[Lena:] I’m pretty sure we could build a robot that writes better poetry than some of these men tbh

[Kara:] ur probably right lmaooooo. Up to the challenge?

[Lena:] Maybe if I had more time? Idk, I’m thinking about it, how hard can it be right?

[Kara:] excuse you robot building is a SCIENCE that should be respected

[Lena:] Easy tiger, I know. I’m just saying, these pompous english guys are kind of funny in a hopeless romantic kind of way, but my robot would be better

[Kara:] hopeless romanticism is my middle name!!! 

[Lena:] Said Miss ‘I can’t tell if they’re flirting with me or just being nice’.

[Kara:] low blow -_- fine, i double dog dare u to build a robot and woo me

[Lena:] Really Kara? Double dog dare? 

[Kara:] you chicken? bak bak bak!!

[Lena:] I can’t believe I’m saying this but okay. Kara Danvers, I accept your double dog dare

[Kara:] lmao get reckt u can’t win. We’re best friends you cant woo me ;)

[Lena:] We’ll see about that now won’t we?

Kara rolls her eyes and pockets her phone, not even bothering to reply. She hears Lena grumble from where she’s sitting behind her in the classroom and looks over her shoulder at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Piece of cake.” Lena says, careful not to let the teacher overhear.

“In your dreams maybe.” Kara replies, sticking her tongue out, and turning back around in her seat. 

“Beep beep boop beep, sex.” Lena leans forward to whisper into Kara’s ear, then tugs affectionately at her blonde hair. “I got this in the bag darling.”

Kara has never been more grateful of the fact that Lena can’t see her face since she’s sitting behind her, the offhand comment making her blush more than she thought that it would, and she ducks her head down, her hair coming to cover her face a bit too. Lena is oblivious to the effect she’s had on her friend, taking her embarrassed silence as a point in her favor.

She starts madly writing in her notebook then, only half paying attention to the teacher’s lecture as her brain comes up with rapid fire ideas for her ‘Woo Robot’ as she’s started calling it, even going so far as to make a little sketch in the corner of her book for it’s design. The class ends not long after, the teacher dismissing them for the next week so that groups can get started working on their project, and Lena is giddy with excitement at spending more time with her best friend.

“So I was thinking that Saturday we can meet up and start doing a bit of research for our poets?” Lena asks once she and Kara are walking away from their classroom.

“Sure, that’s fine.” Kara replies, linking her arm with Lena’s and pressing into her side. “I do have to request that we do it after eleven am, we’re having a big fight Friday and win or lose the guys and I are going out to drink.”

“Oh yeah, that’s totally fine!”

“Hey, you should come.” Kara tugs them both to a stop and lets go of Lena’s arm so she can stand in front of her. “I’ve been begging you to come to one of our fights for weeks and I know that you’re normally busy but you’re free this friday! I know, you told me because you said your lab was cancelled, and besides it’s about time we do something off campus that’s not just drinking. Robot fights are super fun, and you can’t say they aren’t because you’ve never been to one.”

“Sure Kara, I’d love to come.” Lena grins, watching in amusement as her friend continues to ramble, completely ignoring her answer. 

“And sometimes if we’re lucky, Streaky tears the others apart and parts go flying! Don’t worry there’s glass so you can’t get hit with flying robot, and you can borrow my extra safety glasses if you’re really worried. And I’ll even buy your drinks-”

“Kara!” Lena places a hand on one of Kara’s wildly gesticulating arms and brings it close to her, pulling Kara forward. “I said yes! I’d love to go. Mostly just to laugh at you being a complete dork.” 

Kara huffs and gives Lena a playful glare, her lips forming an affronted pout that just makes the other girl giggle at her friend’s silly antics. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I did, you were just too busy being a massive dork to listen.” Lena laughs and lets go of Kara’s arms. Kara pushes at her shoulder and with a muttered ‘whatever’ that only serves to make Lena laugh more. She links their arms back together and tugs her back down the sidewalk, “Let’s go dork!” 

Kara groans and presses her face into Lena’s shoulder. “I hate you.”

//

Lena nervously paces in front of the large brick building, mumbling a hasty ‘excuse me’ when she bumps into a hurried student making their way inside. She glances down at her watch then back up again at the people strolling about in front of the event center. 

“Lena!” 

Lena whirls in the direction of the voice to the sight of a jogging Kara Danvers pushing her way through the thinning crowd. “Hey! Sorry, had to go round the back.” She doesn’t stop, crashing right into Lena’s waiting arms and pulling her close. Lena easily takes it in stride, used to Kara’s affections and smile against her friend’s neck, then just as abruptly, pulling away again.

“Ew, why are you all sweaty?” She moves back, but Kara only pulls her close again, laughing into her hair. “Kara! No! That’s so gross!”

“I’m stinky!” Kara laughs then releases Lena. “Winn’s car doesn’t have any air conditioning so it gets pretty hot. Now hurry! We’re getting ready.”

Kara pulls Lena into her side once again, just for the hell of it, laughing wildly when Lena pushes her away, and leads her around the side of the building to another entrance. There was almost no foot traffic on that side, and Kara babbled some of the rules to her as they walked.

“So the matches are three minutes long, and we do two matches per robot unless it gets eliminated slash destroyed. There’s a forty minute break between the matches to get the robots sorted out. There’s a point system which is kind of confusing but basically whoever gets the most points wins if they aren’t eliminated before the matches end.” They slow as they approach a large wooden door that opens into a huge space already packed with people and Kara flashes a badge at the kid standing by it. He waves them by without a second glance. “We’re gonna be fighting these guys from Arizona and Virginia today and Winn is worried but I think we got it in the bag.”

Inside, a massive crowd of people gathers around a stage that was surrounded by thick glass from all sides. An area sunken around the stage was a place Kara called ‘The Pit’ where teams sat, and directly behind them was a low fence that separated them from a crowd that vibrated with an excited energy. 

As soon as Lena and Kara came into the NCU area Brainy and Winn spring up, Winn wrapping Lena into a quick hug and Brainy giving her an enthusiastic fist bump.

“Where’s Nia? Doesn’t she usually come with you guys?” Lena asks once they had all settled down into their area and noticed the other girl missing. 

“Nia is currently getting us refreshments from the food bar.” Brainy answers. “We are all very hot from the lack of air ventilation in Winn’s car.”

“Hey!” Winn exclaimes. He pauses from where he was messing with the control on the floor and shot a glare at Brainy. “Be grateful I at least have a car. Next time, you’re walking.”

Kara snickered into her hand and Lena laughed, their shoulders bumping into each other as they grinned over Winn’s head. 

Brainy rolls his eyes and sighed. “At least I will be exposed to fresher air, Winslow.”

“Stop bullying Winn, Querl.” Nia’s voice pipes up from behind them. “Help me with the snacks instead.”

She hands off her pile of snacks to Brainy over the rails, and he hands them off to Winn who distributed them around as he avoided Kara’s insistent grabby hands. They all knew better by no than to let her get her hands on food before anyone else got the chance to. 

Everyone grabbed a bottle of water and a snack of some sort, and once they were ready Brainy turned to help Nia over the rail so she didn’t have to walk all the way around again. 

Lena smiles at the couple, watching as Brainy carefully lifted his girlfriend and set her down just as gently. Nia smiles up at him and gave him a quick kiss, watching in amusement as his cheeks reddened ever so slightly. He pulls her into a hug and Lena looks away from such an intimate moment, her eyes flicking over to Kara as something warm burned low in her chest. Her friend was too busy demolishing an overwhelming plate of nachos to notice Lena’s fond gaze. 

Cheese dripped down her fingers and she sticks them in her mouth, not wanting to lose even an ounce of the liquid gold, licking and sucking at her sticky digits, her pink tongue darting out between her lips. Lena found herself blushing, looking away and fumbling for the bottle of water she had placed by her feet. She took a few drinks of the cool water and capped it, shifting back a little as Nia shuffled by and came over to stand next to her.

“What’s up Lena?” Nia wiggled as she made herself comfortable. “I see Kara finally dragged you to one of these. About time someone that isn’t these nerds joins me.”

Three loud ‘hey!’s shot up around them and Lena and Nia laugh as all three of the teammates stuck their tongues out at them. 

“They’re all dorks and they should stop fighting it, I mean, look at them!” Nia points to where Brainy, Kara and Winn huddle around in a circle and whisper to each other, Kara fidgeting with the control in her hands. 

Three one fingered salutes rose in the air as if coordinated and Lena and Nia are lost in a fit of giggles again.

“Can’t live with em, can’t live without em.” Nia sighs contentedly and stretches her arms up and then out to her sides, loosening herself up. “You ready to see some action?”

“I guess so. I’m not sure what to expect.” Lena replied, crossing her arms and letting her water bottle dangle precariously between two fingers. “I mean, it’s just three minutes right?”

“Oh sweetie, you are in for a ride.” Nia shot her a grin, then straightened up and started bouncing when the lights dimmed and the crowd cheered as a voice came on overhead.

“Good evening, and welcome to Friday Night Robot Fights, the Semis!” The voice echoed in the space and the crowd went absolutely wild, everyone shooting to their feet as the raised arena in the middle was lit from bright spotlights and two robots emerged on raised platforms. Streaky was easily recognizable to Lena, she had spent more than enough time around it when she hung out with Kara and the team in the lab. It was a sleek looking robot, low to the ground painted in a glossy black color, with a bright orange streak running down its sides. It was shaped slightly rounded at the top, with a protruding spinning disc in the front, and a wicked looking metal hand in the back ending in a hammer head, making it look like it had a tail and thus like it’s namesake, an old Danvers’ family cat. There was a small NCU Supers logo painted on its backside, and it wiggled from side to side as it was announced. “Tonight, we have National City University’s Streaky versus Arizona State University’s Fireball!”

Fireball was painted an extremely brilliant red that reminded Lena of the Hanes’ logo. It had a yellow fireball depicted on its flat top, similar to it’s opponent but lower to the ground. The front extended out and curved inwards, similar to the form of a bulldozer, and it had two pipes protruding from it’s back that, when its name was announced, shot out fire. 

Around them, the crowd cheered and leaned over the railings, NCU’s team giving out exuberant high fives and Lena couldn’t help the infectious energy radiating from all side, jumping up and whooping loud along with the crowd. 

“Let the games begin!” The announcer exclaimed, and if possible, the crowd got even louder, cheering and stomping their feet when screens at the top of the arena and lit up, three pink bars on a black background.

“Three! Two! One!” The crowd counted out together, and at the last number, a loud horn went off.

Winn had control for the first round, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on the robots in the arena. Fireball rolled up to Streaky as soon as the horn went off, and Lena gasped, expecting an immediate collision, but Winn furiously pressed on the remote and suddenly Streaky was in the air, flying over Fireball’s assault and landing two feet away, turning quickly to face it’s opponent. 

Lena couldn’t help the yell that ripped from her throat, a rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins as she watched the match in front of her. She could hear a laugh to her right and saw Nia beside her, a knowing grin on her face.

“I told ya!” She yelled to be heard over the crowd, and Lena could only nod in reply, quickly turning to look back at the fight.

Fireball was hesitant to run right at Streaky again, and Winn took advantage of that, the black robot moving quickly to it’s opponent with it’s spinning disc aimed right at its front. Lena winced as the robots crashed and sparks flew, and she expected to see Fireball’s front torn up, but the disc only managed to scrape it and Fireball ran at Streaky again, sending the other robot launching into the air.

“Ohh!” The crowd sounded as one, and Lena clenched her fists as Streaky landed on its back, wheels spinning.

“Oh no!” She yelled, but Winn activated it’s pneumatics again and Streaky flipped into the air, landing rightside up. 

A cheer went up again, but there was a collective wince when Fireball pushed Streaky right into the side of the arena where two spinning screws that Lena hadn’t noticed before scraped against its sides, causing another round of sparks to go up. She let out a yell of frustration, but when she looked over at her friends they didn’t seem too concerned, Kara and Brainy giving out words of encouragement to Winn who bounced Streaky away from the screws and then spun it to face Fireball. 

Fireball’s fire pipes flared to life, giving it a boost of speed as it went right at Streaky again, but suddenly Streaky’s arm sprang to life and slammed up and over it’s curved top, coming down like a hammer on Fireball’s flat top and stopping it in its tracks. Fireball’s wheels spun backwards as it tried to get away, but Streaky followed, it’s arm coming down again, and Lena winced when she saw a small but noticeable dent it left behind. 

The screen above flashed green, showing a one minute warning, and Lena felt her blood thumping in her ears as she watched. Fireball rolled away, it’s boost letting it escape Streaky’s reach, and Streaky paused as Fireball zoomed to the opposite end of the arena.

Lena felt herself inhale and held her breath, waiting for one of the robots to make a move, eyes flicking to the clock counting down the time, and suddenly both robots flew at each other, Fireball reaching Streaky first and launching it up into the air again. Lena’s air rushed out of her in an angry yell, eyes glued to Streaky’s form as it flipped in the air, seeming to be suspended for a second before it fell back to earth. In a crazy maneuver, as it hurtled back down toward Fireball it’s hammer snapped forward at the same time, and Fireball’s top crumbled inwards.

The crowd erupted into a deafening roar, the sound of the airhorn lost in the noise and everyone around Lena raised their arms up in excitement. Lena was suddenly wrapped in Nia’s arms and Lena just as cherrily hugged her back, the two of them bouncing in excitement. Besides them Team NCU Supers was huddled together with barely contained happiness, all of them practically vibrating at the clear victory, but they had one other match to go and weren’t ready to call it a day just yet. 

The lights in the arena turned on again, blinding Lena for a moment as she adjusted to the sudden influx on her senses and causing her to sneeze.

“Bless you.” Kara said, suddenly at her elbow.

“Thanks!” Lena turned and smiled up at her friend. “Kara that was insane! I can’t believe I’d never come to one of these before. Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Kara just laughs and shrugs, a lopsided smile on her face. “Thought robot fights were for nerds?”

“You’re the worst!” Lena laughs and throws her arms around her friend, pulling her close. Kara hugs her back just as tightly, pulling her that much closer against her body, and time freezes as they hold each other for a second, just breathing each other in.

“Kara, hey, we need to get going. We have thirty-five minutes left.” Winn’s voice breaks whatever spell they were in and they pull away from each other, albeit reluctantly.

“What, where are you going?” Lena asks in confusion.

“Gotta patch Streaky up for his next round.” Kara slowly walks backwards away from Lena. “Don’t worry, Nia will keep you company, and there’ll be three more fights while we’re gone. Have fun! Take care of her, Nia!”

“I got your girl, Kara. Hurry up before the boys come back to drag you away.” Nia slung an arm over Lena’s shoulder and waves at a retreating Kara with the other. 

Lena looked up at Nia and she just smiled down at her, not noticing how Lena panicked internally at her words. 

Kara’s girl. 

She wasn’t Kara’s girl, at least not like that, they were just friends. Nia knew that, most people did too, even though they seemed to confuse them as a couple more often than not, and Lena would normally laugh and brush it off, but something about the words coming from a friend that gave her pause, and she mulled the words over in her mind as Nia led her to the mini bar tucked into one corner. 

Yeah, of course she liked Kara, how could she not. But she didn’t like Kara like that, they were best friends, they were just friends, and besides a little mild flirting here and there, she had never thought of Kara as a romantic interest because it was Kara. No matter, the drinks Nia pushed into her hands were enough of a distraction, and soon they were back in their area, watching as two other robots faced off and Lena shoved whatever confusing feelings deep into her mind.

The first match was just as intense as the second. Sparks flew, robot pieces flew, even one of Lena’s drinks flew in her excitement, and she found herself cheering and screaming along with the crowd as two robots fought in an action packed battle. In Lena’s opinion, the second match was better than the first since one of the robots malfunctioned and lost a chain that spun the wicked metal blade protruding from the top of it, hitting the other robot and tangling it’s wheels. It ended with the blade robot winning, only because the other robot was more incapacitated due to the chain, and Lena jumped and raised her hands, grabbing Nia and spinning them in a crazy circle, both of their heads thrown back in laughter. Her face was flushed, and she was already starting to feel a little buzzed, but she hadn’t had such a fun night in a while and it was nice to let loose.

She’s startled when a warm hand presses into her lower back and turns, a snarl in her throat and ready to tear whoever got handsy with her a new one, but when she turns she’s met with the dazzling smile of Kara, her skin flushed from either excitement or alcohol. Probably a bit of both since Lena can smell it on her skin from how close they are.

“Hey! I missed you!” Kara yells then pulls Lena backwards into her arms, wrapping her arms around her waist and settling her head over Lena’s shoulder. Lena squeezes at the arms wrapped around her and tilts her head closer to Kara’s. 

“I missed you too! Are you ready?”

“Hell yeah! Streaky is ready to go.” Kara gives Lena a gentle squeeze around the middle before letting her go. Lena misses her warmth immediately. “Where’s Nia?”

“She went to the restroom I think. Where are the guys?” Lena looks over Kara’s shoulder for her teammates.

“There.” Kara points to the other side of the arena and Lena follows her finger to Winn and Brainy. They’re talking to another team, laughing and joking as they wait to load Streaky into the side panel that leads to the hidden platform under the arena. 

Lena watches as Brainy carefully maneuvers Streaky into the space and then steps back with a satisfied nod. He says something to Winn and with a few more waves to the other team they both make their way back over. 

“Who’s that?’ Lena asks once they’ve made their way back into their area and settled to wait before the match started. 

“That’s Team Brainiac.” Kara replied. “Brainy used to be on their team until he transferred.”

“Ouch.” Lena winced and turned to look where Brainy was, eyes focused with laser-like precision on the other team. “Bad blood?”

“None at all Lena.” Brainy glances at her. “We are all very good friends, although I see them less often than I’d like. Nothing more than a little friendly competition is all.”

Lena hums thoughtfully and turns to look at the other team. They all seem to be shooting quick glances in their direction, mostly looking at Brainy, but besides normal competitiveness they don’t look outright angry.

The speakers above crackle to life all of a sudden, scaring Lena and she jumps a good foot into the air, causing everyone to snicker as the announcers speaks in a booming voice. 

“And now, we welcome back to the arena National City University Supers and their robot Streaky!”

The crowd’s energy flares back to life again, and Lena bounces on her toes, excited for the battle to start already. Kara has the remote this time and she stands as close to the arena as she can, a determined look in her eye.

“They will be facing off against Virginia Tech’s Brainiacs and their robot Tyrant! And let’s not forget that Mister Querl Dox of Supers used to be on the team, so this will be an interesting fight!”

There’s a loud ‘oh!’ from the crowd, and the ground shakes as everyone stomps their feet, even the teams, and Lena can’t help but join in.

“Are you ready? Let the games begin!”

“Three! Two! One!” The crowd counts down with the clock and Lena adds her voice to it, stomping a leg down as the number goes down. The horn goes off, and the arena is awash in light.

This time Streaky makes the first move, but instead of going right towards Tyrant it zooms by at the last second, Kara’s quick hands avoiding a head on collision. Tyrant is similar to Streaky in size but not in build. Instead of a spinning disc protruding from it’s from it has two blades that spin around it’s entire body, and it’s a little taller and narrower. It’s painted a mint green, its blade a stark red against the body, and the word ‘Tyrant’ emblazoned on both of it’s blades in yellow.

Tyrant’s blades are activated and Lena can hear it’s engine all the way from where she’s at, and she feels her heart drop in her throat when the blades start spinning so fast they just look like a red and yellow blur. Kara has Streaky precariously close to the spinning screws by the walls, and Lena pulls her bottom lip between her teeth in worry. 

Tyrant charges at Streaky, and right before it makes an impact Streaky jumps over the oncoming machine, and Tyrant rams right into the spinning screws, it’s blades hitting them and scraping so hard that sparks fly.

The crowd yells and Lena does too, feeling that pumping in her veins from earlier again. Streaky takes advantage of Tyrant having trouble against the screws and charges. It’s front disc connects with Tyrant’s back, and suddenly a piece of Tyrants body goes flying upwards. 

Kara lets out a triumphant yell but remains focused on the task at hand. Tyrant moves away from the screws, but even from this distance it’s obvious that one of it’s spinning blades is damaged and that it’s back is missing a piece. 

Streaky charges at it again, but Tyrants wicked blades scrape against Streaky’s sides and sparks go flying again. There’s a collective wince when one of Streaky’s side plates goes shooting out. Kara cries out and grits her teeth.

Tyrant advances on Streaky and Streaky uses it’s hammer to bash at it, managing to hit a blade but not causing any significant damage and Tyrant backs the little robot towards one of the walls. Streaky’s hammer goes off again, and this time it hits the blade and causes it to bend down, the blade slowing as the bent piece of metal turns awkwardly.

Streaky takes advantage and jumps, flipping in the air and landing slightly on top of Tyrant. The metal blades as still spinning but not fast enough to really damage Streaky, so it uses its metal arm to bash the top of Tyrant’s metal shell. 

Just like the first match it crumples in again, and by the third hit the top metal plate is gone. Tyrant struggles to maneuver away, but Kara keeps Streaky right on top of it, Tyrants blades now uselessly whacking Streaky. The hammer comes down again, this time slamming right into Tyrant’s inner workings, and there’s a spark from metal on metal, and then, out of nowhere, fire.

Streaky jumps into the air and lands on the floor, moving backwards quickly away from Tyrant and it’s burning top. There’s a brief moment where it looks like Tyrant is in the clear, but the flame grows bigger, and a buzzer sounds off.

Streaky wins, and as soon as it’s announced an employe rushes into the arena through a door in the glass, fire extinguisher in hand. Tyrant is covered in a layer of white foam, looking about as pitiful as a robot could get, while Kara runs Streaky in a victory lap around the arena.

The crowd goes insane, and a chant of ‘Streaky! Streaky! Streaky!’ goes up. Brainy and Winn are quick to run to Kara and they wrap her up in a group hug, jumping up and down, screaming wildly. Nia pushes Lena towards the bundle, and all five of them hold onto each other as they cheer and jump and spin. 

Everything after that is pretty much a blur, but the next thing Lena knows is they’re sitting around a too small bar table and Nia is passing out a round of shots. 

“To Streaky!” They all cheer and knock back the drink, Winn sucking on a lemon right afterwards to get the taste out of his mouth.

“Damn, I’m upset you never took me out to one of these before Kara.” Lena said, bumping her shoulder into Kara’s. “That was, hands down, one of the best things I had ever seen.”

“I’ve been saying!” Kara exclaimed, laughing and dropping her head against Lena’s shoulder. “You just say you’re always too busy with this or that. You need to listen to your best friend more often.” 

Lena looks down at Kara’s head on her shoulder and Kara pouts, lower lip jutting out with just a hint of a wobble. She rolls her eyes at her friend but her stomach flutters at the sight anyways.

“Fine okay, you win.” Lena replies, and Kara raises her head and fist pumps. “Next time you guys have another fight, I wanna go. And yes, that means you boys too. If Kara doesn’t invite me, one of you better.” She raises a finger at them and both Brainy and Winn visibly swallow and turn to look at each other, eyes wide.

Nia cackles at the looks on their faces and presses a sweet kiss to Brainy’s cheek. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll protect you.” She turns to Lena and leans across the table to whisper conspiratorially. “I’ll invite you next time because these goobers tend to forget. And Kara gets too flustered when she wants to ask you, but you didn’t hear it from me.” She leans back with a wink and faces her boyfriend, wrapping an affectionate arm around his waist. Lena blinks at the information, not sure what to do with it, but she’s soon distracted as a bartender comes by with a serving plate.

Another round of shots is handed around the table, and Lena knocks it back, sucking on a lemon that she’s pretty sure has already been in Kara’s mouth but she’s a little too buzzed to care really, and Kara’s warm presence at her side is only adding to the drunk feeling she’s getting.

They somehow make it back to campus, a brief image of all five of them piling into a taxi comes to mind, Lena leaning on Kara for support as they clumsily stumble into Kara’s apartment and shut the door behind them.

Lena tosses her pants somewhere in the living room, Kara taking the time to sort of fold her own and put them over the back of the couch before they fall into bed together. Kara manages to wrangle the covers above them and then they settle, Kara spooning Lena like she does most times. They snuggle closer and sigh contentedly, and before they know it, they’re fast asleep.

**Author's Note:**

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